7B Try out these listening tasks from Empower Second edition C1 Advanced
(ISBN 978-3-12-540786-2) in your next class. There's no need to make copies for students.
1 SPEAKING AND LISTENING
e 07.11 Ask students why they think the book is called
Rewire. Ask students to summarise the main point the
book makes, according to Zelda, in one sentence. Tell
three or four students to give you their answers and ask
the rest of the class to comment on how accurate and
complete they are.
Possible answer
We need to change our online behaviour so that we can connect
more with different people and cultures.
Audioscript
PRESENTER Welcome to From My Bookshelf – the weekly programme
where guests talk about a book that they think everyone should
read. This week’s guest is media expert and commentator Zelda
Freeman. Welcome Zelda, thank you very much for being here today.
Tell us about your book.
ZELDA Well, er … the most intriguing book I’ve read in the past few
years – is Rewire by Ethan Zuckerman – er, he’s an academic, and he
thinks deeply about the role of media in our society.
P Zuckerman. The main thing about his book, I hear, is that he’s
challenging the myth about the Internet, is that true?
Z Yes, er … the myth. And what’s interesting is that we only think we’re
more connected … But, the point he’s making is, we’re actually
wrong. Er, in some ways, the Net manages to isolate us.
P So we’re all connected together but we’re isolating ourselves? That
sounds like a contradiction – how is that possible?
Z Well, using myself as an example. I use the Internet to keep up with
f 07.11 Ask students if they would read Rewire.
the news. I read a lot of newspapers online, but it’s only British ones
that I read. There’s nothing stopping me from reading an English-
language newspaper in China – it’s just a click away. But, I don’t.
What Zuckerman is saying is that the Internet is a very powerful tool,
but very few of us exploit it to its full potential.
P I have to ask – does it matter?
Z Well, yes … The reason why it matters is, we’re living in an age of
economic and physical connection. Er, our economies are connected.
So, if the stock market in the USA sneezes, then we all catch a cold.
We’ve all seen how; a deadly virus can break out in one part of the
world and can travel around the globe very quickly. And more people
are moving around. The thing we really need to understand is how
other countries and cultures work. We’re more linked to each other
than we used to be, so we need to be a lot more cosmopolitan.
P But in the 21st century, I’m sure a lot of people already know this.
Does it actually matter if we don’t do anything about it?
Z Well, good point … I mean, Zuckerman makes a very good point
about that. We tend to think we know more than we actually do. It’s
a kind of false cosmopolitanism. And he uses this example because
we know we could in theory read The Times of India online, but we
almost begin to imagine that we actually do that, although in reality
we don’t. It’s the possibility of connection that means we begin to
think of ourselves as being cosmopolitan.
P So we begin to think that a possibility is a reality?
Z Exactly. I mean, that’s fine for many things, but as far as the Internet
is concerned, I really think we need to think about it a bit more.
P So why do you think that we don’t connect more?
Z Well, Zuckerman suggests that our online behaviour is not that
different from our offline behaviour. Er, so for example, we form
social groups according to the people we meet as we grow up, and
we get together with people with similar attitudes and interests.
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P So like we do in social media, we only ‘friend’ people we want to
actually be friends with?
Z Yes, that’s right. What we don’t do is explore much beyond that. But
the thing is, we can – we actually have the potential to do that.
P So does Zuckerman himself – does he have any suggestions?
Z Well, he says that all we need to do is ‘disconnect’ from our current
way of thinking and ‘rewire’. We all have to learn to behave in a very
different way.
P How?
Z That’s the problem. It’s a challenge. You need to identify what he
calls ‘bridge figures’. These are people who are able to translate ideas
from one culture to another. They can explain it, give it context, and
they help us to understand it.
P So like in some kind of magazine or journal?
Z No, not really. He means being much freer than that. So, for instance,
bloggers. These are people who have a passion for this kind of
thing. Er … their information needs to be open and accessible and
therefore it’s free for everyone.
P Won’t this just be more information online that people don’t read?
Z So, as I mentioned before, business and politics are more and more
connected. Er, business and political leaders need to be genuinely
cosmopolitan in this day and age. So people who are ‘bridge figures’
are likely to assume more and more important roles in business, and
also in politics. They’ve rewired already. So, if we want to do well in
the world, we need to rewire as well.
Play the recording again. Tell students to note down
examples. Check answers as a class. Use the Vocabulary
support box to help with vocabulary as necessary.
Possible answers
1 we read a lot of newspapers online (but not necessarily those
from other cultures, although they’re widely available); we form
social groups (but only with people similar to ourselves)
2 economically: we’re affected by changes in the US stock market;
physically: dangerous viruses can spread quickly round the
world and more people are moving around
3 we know we could read The Times of India, so we almost begin
to think that we do
4 bloggers, business and political leaders; they translate ideas
from one culture to another
VOCABULARY SUPPORT
myth (C1) – a commonly believed, but false, idea
isolate (C1) – separate one, or a group, from the main group so
that it has no contact
contradiction (C2) – the state in which two statements, ideas,
etc., cannot both be true because they contain opposing ideas
sneeze (B2) – used figuratively to mean change slightly/
suddenly/briefly in a negative way
assume (a role) (C2) – (formal) to start to take responsibility for a
particular thing/job
1
Empower Second edition C1 Advanced, Teacher‘s Book
ISBN 978-3-12-540786-2